At the Burrow
by Savy13
Summary: The December after the last battle, Jess Potter goes back to the Burrow ready to share a secret or two...


**This is just a one shot that kept poking me in the back of the head until I finished it...**

**I do not own Harry Potter. **

Jessamine Potter took a deep breath. What on Earth was she going to do? How would Mrs. Weasley act? Never mind, she knew how Mrs. Weasley would act. And it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Ready love?"

Jess looked up at her boyfriend, second eldest of the Weasley boys.

"I'm scared, Charlie. They don't even know we are dating."

It was almost six months after the final battle, and was nearing Christmas time. Jess had decided to travel a little bit, going to places like America, Asia, and Africa, seeing as much as she could. After visiting Bill and Fleur for a few days in their summer home in Egypt, Charlie had insisted that she come see Romania as well.

She had thought that she had left her schoolgirl crush of Charlie long behind. A week on the dragon preserve had proved her wrong. That time was all it had taken for Charlie to realize that he had fallen for her as well. So when her time in Romania drew to an end, Jess found the Weasley asking her to stay. And she agreed.

Over the next four months she discovered that she was falling in love with him. She loved his dark brown eyes, his freckles, and his deep laugh. She loved the burn scars on his arms, and the way his face lit up when he talked about his dragons. She loved that he liked Quidditch as much as she did, and the way he wrinkled his nose when he was thinking about something. And he made sure that she knew that he loved her just as much.

"It will be fine, Jess. Everyone considers you apart of the family already anyway." He smiled.

"I know... It's just... different. Do you suppose they will be mad because we didn't tell them?" she asked, biting her lip.

"They might be a little put out, but I highly doubt they will be too angry. Just you watch, Mum will start crying from happiness."

Jess gave a small, nervous laugh, and Charlie took the moment to kiss her.

"Ready?" He asked when he pulled away.

"As I will ever be." Jess sighed. The clock began to toll, announcing the hour, and the couple grabbed onto the international portkey they had obtained. There was a seconds pause before Jess felt a familiar tug at her navel and a feeling akin to being pulled through a cyclone. Charlie grabbed her waist as they landed, or else she would have fallen into an ungraceful heap in the Burrow's front yard.

"Arthur! Charlie is here!" They heard Mrs. Weasley yell from inside just before she came hurrying out. "Charlie, dear! Jess? What are you doing here? I didn't expect you to arrive together..."

"We'll explain later, Mum." Charlie said as the rest of the family came out.

"Oi! Jess!" Ron cried as he hugged her. "How are you doing, mate? Hermione is here already-"

"Oh, honestly, Ronald, I can say hello myself." said the bushy-haired bookworm from behind him. She hugged Jess as well.

"How have you been? I want to hear everything about your travels! I beat you learned loads!" she said, with an envious sound to her voice.

"Don't worry, Hermione, I will tell you everything later." Jess laughed. "Hi Ginny!" George! An-Angela?" she asked, seeing whose shoulder's the twin's arm was around.

"Hello Jess. Long time no see." the old Gryffindor smiled.

Percy shook her hand next, looking rather embarrassed. He had apologized for his behavior before, but Jess supposed that he still didn't feel all that comfortable acting as apart of the family again.

Then Mrs. Weasley pulled her into a smothering hug.

"It really is good to see you my dear, it has been far too long. At least you look better fed now. You were always so skinny when you were growing up."

"Molly, don't strangle the girl. Welcome back Jess." Mr. Weasley said.

"Thank you. It is good to be back, Mr. Weasley." she said before she was ushered inside by the family matriarch. She turned around and took one last look at Charlie before they were out of each others sight.

"Where are Bill and Fleur?" Jess asked Ron.

"Not here yet. They will becoming by later." He said. "So, come on, spill. Tell us all about your trip."

Jess smiled and obliged, telling them all about the places she had gone and the things she had seen. But she purposefully left out her extended stay in Romania.

She soon afterward found herself enlisted in helping Mrs. Weasley make dinner, and found herself catching up with Hermione and Ginny as she peeled potatoes. It seemed that Ginny was back dating Michael Corner, and Hermione and Ron were getting along fine. Apparently, Mrs. Weasley kept hinting at Ron to propose, but 'Mione was perfectly willing to wait until after she got her Mastery in Transfiguration and Arithmancy.

"How about you, Jess? Meet some interesting men while traveling?" Ginny asked with a wink.

"You might say that." Jess blushed.

"Oooh! Tell us!"

But no matter how much they begged, Jess would not say another word, insisting that they wait before she filled them in later.

Around five, Bill and Fleur arrived, and the welcoming party was formed for the second time that day. Shortly after, Mrs. Weasley announced that dinner would be ready by seven, so it was decided that a short game of Quidditch would be held to pass the time. Charlie and Jess were the seekers, since they had both played that position when they were at Hogwarts. One by one they chose their players until George, Angela, Ron, and Hermione were on her team. Charlie got Percy, Ginny, Bill, and Fleur. It was a fairly close game. Hermione and Percy were equally horrible, and Fleur turned out to be not so bad a player, so everything was evenly matched. But everyone was shocked when Charlie got the Snitch before Jess.

"I mean, no offense, Charlie, but Jess only ever lost one game. And that was because of the Dementors!" Ron said, incredulous. "AND she has a Firebolt!"

"No offense taken, Ron. I know Jess is a better seeker than I am. I just got lucky I guess." Charlie grinned. What nobody knew was that Charlie had played dirty, distracting his girlfriend from doing her job. Jess crossed her arms and pretended to pout at him. Everyone was even more surprised at her reaction. She had taken her last loss of a Quidditch match hard. She wasn't that much of a bad sport! She thought indignantly. This game was supposed to be just for fun, not the House Cup like last time.

"Dinner!" Mrs. Weasley called. There was a rush as everyone hurried to land and put away their brooms and gear. Then they washed up as quickly as possible before going to help set up the food outside. There was no way all of them would fit inside, so they had it out in the garden just like they did the summer before Jess' fourth year. Warming charms had been placed over the area so the winter chill could not touch them as they indulged in the bounteous feast. There was turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce... Deviled eggs, string beans, black eyed peas, and mashed potatoes... Jess started to load up her plate.

"Are you still planning on becoming an Auror, Jess?" Percy asked.

"Not really." she said with a shake of her head. "I was only doing it because of Voldemort, and I don't have that to worry about any longer. Actually, I was thinking about becoming a Hedge-witch."

"Really?" Hermione squealed, "Oh, I always knew you were a good teacher!"

Hedge Schools were like preschools for very young children in wizarding families, teaching them in an environment where their accidental magic and innocently loose tongues would not be questioned. Charlie smiled from where he sat directly across from her. She smiled back before she engaged Hermione in a talk about her Masteries.

Just when Jess believed she couldn't take one more bite, the deserts were brought out.

"Treacle tart, Jess? It's your favorite!" Ron said, pulling the dish closer.

"No thank you. I'm um, really full."

But it wasn't the whole truth. At the moment, she couldn't stand the sight of treacle tart. It made her stomach turn just to think about it.

"Full? How can you not make room for desert?" Ron asked.

"Not everyone has a black hole where their stomach should be like you do." Hermione answered for her. But her smile was a testament to her gentle teasing. Ron looked rather sheepish and dropped the subject.

After dinner, everyone went back into the living room for conversation and to get toasty beside the fire. Fleur and Angela helped Mrs. Weasley pass out hot chocolate, and Jess seated herself beside Charlie. When the conversation finally reached a lull, the dragon keeper cleared his throat. Jess began to get nervous again. What would they say? As if he knew what was going through her mind, Charlie's hand wrapped around hers. It gave her the strength to make the first move.

"Well, everybody knows that I went traveling after May." she began. She couldn't bring herself to say 'after the battle'. "And I did, for a little bit. But after I spent a week with Bill and Fleur and Egypt, I was invited by Charlie to visit him in Romania for a time."

Hermione silently gasped, already having pieced a part of it together. Several of the others were now looking at their clasped hands as well.

"And... well..." Jess looked at Charlie, who smiled at her in support. "I never left."

"What?" Ron asked, clueless as ever, while Ginny jumped to her feet.

"You have been dating Charlie all this time-!" she screeched.

"And never told us?" Hermione finished, hands on her hips. Ron's eyes grew wide at their words. Jess flinched and looked away for a moment before turning back to her friends. She was a Gryffindor after all, and was no coward.

"I'm sorry guys. We just wanted things to remain low key for awhile. We were afraid that if we told you and things didn't work out... It would mess up the family dynamic a bit." She explained. The girls eventually calmed down, but the rest of the family stayed stunned.

"So... You really are together?" Ron asked. Jess nodded and watched as Ron dispelled his shock long enough to give his brother a hard stare. "Family or not, I will kick your ass if you hurt her." He said.

"Amen to that." George agreed.

Mrs. Weasley snapped out of her blank faced stare and squealed as she hugged both her son and adopted daughter to her.

"Calm down, Mum." Charlie said, extracting himself from her grip. "We haven't even gotten to the real news yet."

Mrs. Weasley let go, looking confused.

"Real news?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Oh my goodness!" said Hermione, once again guessing before everyone else.

"What is it?" Ron asked, looking back and forth from his excited girlfriend to his blushing best friend. Charlie grinned and wrapped his arm around Jess' waist and his hand resting over her belly.

"Mum... Dad... Jessamine is pregnant."

There was the shortest of silences before all of the younger girls squealed, and Mrs. Weasley fainted dead away.

"Molly!" Mr. Weasley cried, casting and enervate on his wife. She immediately burst into tears of happiness when she woke, which made her look even scarier as she turned angrily to Charlie. He cowered under his mother's glare.

"CHARLES BYRON WEASLEY! I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU GOT HER PREGNANT! I THOUGHT YOU MORE RESPONSIBLE! I HOPE YOU PLAN ON MAKING AN HONEST WOMAN OUT OF THE POOR DEAR-!"

While Molly was yelling at her second oldest son, Fleur came to sit by Jess with a happy smile.

"I cannot believe it! I am so happy for you!" she said. "How far along are you?"

"Almost two months." Jess grinned.

"Oh Jess!" Hermione said, throwing her arms around her friend. "I'm trying to be mad at you for keeping such a big secret, but now you've made me all happy and I can't!"

Jess laughed, and one by one was given congratulations by the others. By the time she received the last one, Molly was done yelling at Charlie. She took a breath before turning to Jess with a smile that lit up her whole face. Mrs. Weasley then gave a happy laugh and hugged her again.

"I can't believe it! My children are going to be parents! I'm going to be a grandmum!"

When Jess finally escaped from the all-encompassing grip, she returned to Charlie, who put his arm around her and kissed her gently. It was turning out to be a much better Christmas than the last.


End file.
